Atiku fires back at Oshiomhole, says APC has left Nigeria in ‘its worst state ever’

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has hit back at Senator Adams Oshiomhole, accusing the former All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman of deflecting public attention from the ruling party’s “historic failures” by launching attacks on Atiku.

Oshiomhole had mocked Atiku’s move to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), calling him a habitual defector. But the Atiku camp said the senator’s remarks were nothing more than political noise from a man who helped midwife a party that has “brought Nigeria to its knees.”

In a statement issued Tuesday, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, argued that Oshiomhole had no credibility to question Atiku’s political trajectory.

“Oshiomhole should be the last person to speak about leadership,” Shaibu said. “He is simply trying to divert Nigerians from the catastrophic failures of the APC – the same party he championed and the same party that has plunged the country into its worst state in decades.”

Shaibu dismissed the senator’s comments as “lazy distractions,” stressing that Atiku never operated the PDP as a personal empire or dictator. He contrasted this with the APC, which he said functioned as a “private business controlled from Bourdillon, where decisions were dictated rather than debated.”

“If Oshiomhole needs a lesson in how a party is turned into a family estate, he should look no further than the godfather he serves,” Shaibu stated. “Under the APC, internal democracy died, dissent became a crime, and state institutions were converted into partisan weapons.”

Defending Atiku’s record, Shaibu listed key achievements from the former vice president’s tenure, including his leadership of the National Economic Council, where he said Atiku played a central role in restoring investor confidence and driving economic reforms.

“Atiku has never been President, yet his ideas remain the most coherent pathway for national recovery,” he said.

Shaibu then took a direct swipe at the APC’s leadership record: “After eight wasted years under Buhari and nearly three more under Tinubu, Oshiomhole still has the audacity to question leadership? The APC has failed on every front.”

He concluded by contrasting Atiku’s “capacity, clarity and national credentials” with what he described as the APC’s legacy of “propaganda and misrule.”

“Oshiomhole represents a party that has betrayed the hopes of millions,” Shaibu said. “He should stop lecturing Nigerians and focus on explaining why the APC continues to fail.”